Pundit

To get the June 2016 edition in .pdf, please click on the link below:

Paying child support can often be a frustrating and difficult undertaking, particularly when the parent who is required to pay encounters financial difficulty. Some of those parents might even feel like they are being negatively judged and told, “Get a job, you lazy bum!”

Michigan’s child support program rolled out MiChildSupport, a MiCSES interface, for the general public in 2014. MiChildSupport allows users to apply for child support services, update personal information, and view case-specific information such as payment history and court hearing dates. All updates made by child support staff will automatically update the MiChildSupport website in real time. With all of this updated information at a person’s fingertips, a customer no longer has to call and speak to someone at a child support partner’s office – most of a party’s case specific questions can be answered by logging into the customer’s case. The trick is getting the word out to the public about the availability of the website and training users how to best use the website to the customer’s advantage.

By: Sandra Vanderhyde, Muskegon Deputy Circuit Court Administrator

Michigan friend of the court (FOC) employees often encounter families in which there may be allegations of child abuse and neglect. But statistically speaking, how often does child abuse and neglect actually occur? The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has provided the following data:

In April, the National Child Support Program (NCSP) published the National Child Support Strategic Plan for 2015-2019 (“Plan”). The Plan emphasizes five principles the NCSP believes are required to create a successful and efficient child support program. Along with the five principles, the Plan also discusses 25 goals and over 100 strategies that are currently being used by child support agencies around the nation to meet these goals.

This edition of Pundit marks the start of the new Interstate Corner, an article within each edition of Pundit, which will draw from questions and answers posted to the Interstate Google Group forum.  This first edition focuses on the often confusing issues of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA).  This edition's Q&A draws heavily from Linda Bess (Enforcement Officer, Calhoun County) and Tony McDowell (Staff Attorney, Genesee County).

2015 PA 255 – Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (effective January 1, 2016)

MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS DECISIONS

 View the full March 2016 edition of Pundit in a pdf version by clicking the following link: